Mars March
by My Morning Straightjacket
Summary: My fixed version of Spike's funeral... Read over it twenty times, I feel a lot better with the results this time... now onto happier stories!


Okay, no excuse for that last one hehe. I promise to make happier stories but ehhhhhhh, I had an idea for this one, and read over it a thousand times, but I only recently re-watched all the episodes and noticed some… minor facts that I sorta overlooked. Sorry all: hopefully this version's a -little- better?

"Come on Faye. It's time to go." Jet Black mutters, pushing open the door; a fancily clad Edward tailing close behind him. The woman was sitting on her bed, head in hands, eyes bloodshot for crying for the last 6 hours. All of Spike's shipmates were clad in black, Faye in a billowing dress, Jet in a dirty, old tuxedo, and Ed in loose black clothing (She even managed to put black socks on).. Ed's dad had gotten word of Spike's death and left his daughter to Jet, for the Funeral, the group having left Mars to go to earth to tell Ed that Spike died in the first place. But the ship was back in Mars' orbit, and all of its inhabitants were preparing to say goodbye to their teammate. Hell, he wasn't just their teammate, he was… _A brother…_thought Jet; _A… lover_; Mused Faye; _Ed's friend!_ Blinks Edward. It was a truly sad time for them all. Even the ship itself seemed to cry at losing one of its inhabitants. "You old piece of…" Jet mutters, the hatch for the door nearly falling off as the three left the ship, Ein following Edward and whining sadly.

The walk there was quiet; a light rain had started and Ed begun to awkwardly waddle around Faye and Jet, acting her usual self. Jet was dead quiet, and Faye had stopped crying, expelling a mild _sigh_ every few minutes. Each person in the group held two roses, and even Ein carried them in his mouth. Every person they passed on the street seemed to feel the gloom in the air and held their head low as they walked the streets to Spike's final resting place. It was a universal sadness that engulfed the entire colony.

All of Spike's local friends showed up for the viewing, and helped prepare the couples' graves in the small diner they were held in. This diner was near the graveyard that held an old mob friend of Spike's. Jet helped clear the tables for the caskets, then set up the chairs to make a makeshift church. "Spike wasn't a Christian, but hell, we've gotta do something for the man." His buddy told Jet. Jet nodded a solemn agreement. "I still can't believe Spike's dead…" He sighs. "I don't think any of us can truly accept it." The big man patted Spike's friend on the back with his human hand. "But he would've wanted us to move on. "It's a dream," after all."

Each one of Spike and Julia's old friends gave some final words to the two, all went on crying. Jet was the last one to go up. "The man was like a brother to me. We started on the opposite sides, but, in the end, we ended up fighting for the same goal. To survive. I'm just glad he found out if he was alive or not, and he finished his business on earth." He finishes up, stepping down off the stage. ."Faye, you wanna say anything?" She looks to the side, biting her lip. "Hmph. The fool had to go and die… Sure. I will." Jet puts a hand on her shoulder as he walks by, smiling, as Faye climbs the staircase. It was like climbing up the stairs to her execution, like facing the reality she never wanted to. Spike was dead.

As Faye started to speak, she introduced Spike as she knew him. "A fool once told me how he wasn't going to die; how he was just going to find out if he was really alive. Spike… lived his life as if he were dead, or as if he were gonna die tomorrow. Whatever happens, happens, he'd say. In our time together on the Bebop, I say he became my friend. He became…" she bit her lip, thinking of what to say, "More of a friend. And," a lone tear went down her cheek, "I wish more than anything he would've listened to me… You damn fool…" Faye sobbed, walking off the stage. Jet embraced her in a friendly hug, helping the girl back to her seat.

Ed got up and mused about how she would miss Spike, and how the Bebop wouldn't be the same without him. Only two other men spoke after Ed, they spoke of fun times they'd had with Spike, how they knew him as a great friend. Morose and depressing applause followed each speech. After they spoke, the dreary crowd rose to their feet. The room sighed with the people in it, any form of joy or happiness had left the room, even Ed had a tear running down her face. Everyone slowly approached the coffins in a line. They each gently placed a rose on the coffins of the couple- as if sewing their very memory of the individuals into the roses. Everyone bowed their heads, Julia and Spike were perfectly dressed, almost as if they were just asleep in the coffins instead of dead. Spike even had his cocky grin on his face. Everyone at the funeral tried hard to keep their spirits up, but the one man who brought so much joy into their lives was cut down, literally, before what they thought was his time. Sure he had died once, but hell, the man seemed invincible.

The funeral march to the coffin was, no pun intended, quiet as death; only the sounds of the few crying women were heard. Jet, along with seven other friends, carried the coffins up to the graveyard. The light drizzle from earlier had turned into a heavy rainstorm by time they reached the two empty holes in the ground. A priest gives some final words as the twin caskets are lowered into the ground next to each other. The water had started to form a film on the top of the caskets- and had started to run down the sides too, mimicking the tears of the crying group. "And so… these two will lay together, side by side, for all of eternity." He finishes, the crowd whispering a silent "Amen." Jet and the man who donated the diner to their funeral both dumped shovelfuls of dirt into the holes. "Damn, Spike, I never thought you'd go down like this." Jet mutters, packing the dirt with his shovel. The rain slowed, like mars was accepting the two into it's red soil. The ceremony was wrapping up. Everyone in attendance lowers their head once more, muttering a final "Hail" to Spike and Julia, before heading off on their own. Jet and Faye hung around to talk to some of their old friends. After everyone else left, Faye stood once more over the monument that held the man who she could say she actually trusted. "Damn you, Spike! I sure as hell hope you found out what you wanted to." The wind and rain cease, a final whisper of the wind seeming to say "Bang" before finally growing silent.

"So, Faye, what're you going to do now?" Jet lights a cigarette, blowing the smoke into the air and glancing at the woman who was staring off into the distance. Faye, Jet, and Ed had made their way back to the Bebop. "I think I'll stay with you guys, I've got no home to go back to. What about the kid and the mutt?" The Welsh Corgi barks at Faye's insult, before running back over to Edward. "Ed's dad is boring! Ed thinks she should stay with you guys, yayyyy!" Jet grins, glad to have the group back together again. "Yeah. Welcome back to the crew, ladies! Well then, where to next, gang?"

"_Where am I…"_ Spike's voice echoes around him. He was laying in a room, all white, that seemed to go on in every direction forever. Every sound, every movement he made caused a sound wave that reverberated around him. He smiled, for once, escaping from a horrific injury not covered in bandages. Spike knew what happened. _"So I'm… dead. This isn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Heh._ His voice echoes, as he pushes himself to his feet. That was when he realized he was naked, and every single scar he'd ever had was gone._ Where the hell are my clothes…_ He thinks, starting to walk into the oblivion. And that's all he does; he walks, and walks, driven only by his heart. Time passes, days, months, time lost to the dead, as he travels. But he eventually sees a speck in the distance._ Finally, something! _His pace increases, the sound of his footsteps echo on and on as he sprints at the shape. It rapidly morphs… grows… becomes more defined, until Spike is eventually able to clearly make out what it is: a woman. _"Hey!" _Spikes voice rings out, as he jogs to the girl. The woman turns, looking at him with a smiling face. She knew who it was, before he even got to her, and spike felt that same magnetic pull. _"Julia!" "Spike!"_ He laughs, as his old girlfriend wraps her arms around him. They kiss. _"So we're… dead?" _Julia looks into his eyes. Spike smiles. _"Seems so."_ Neither of them are scared… they both seem happy. _"Even Vicious made it…" Julia smiles. "This way, there's others there. Should we go?"_ _"Why not? No going back. Let's live on into eternity…" Spike grins at her, and the two walk into the white, hand in hand. "The dream's over."_


End file.
